How can AI accelerate the decarbonization of real estate?

As more companies set sustainability targets and standards, another important aspect of AI is supporting compliance and reporting. Tools such as JLL's Canopy gather utility and environmental data to monitor performance, with an automated reporting feature helping companies benchmark progress against recognized frameworks.

Other AI tools are helping real estate owners stay on top of complex, evolving sustainability regulations by highlighting actions to comply with incoming laws.

One emerging area is aiding sustainability decision-making across real estate portfolios. New AI tools are scanning data such as leasing information and asset emissions to offer data-driven recommendations about which buildings to sell and which ones to retrofit - while flagging decarbonization solutions tailored to the condition of buildings.

The JLL-GPT tool, for example, uses market data, external business insights and internal commercial real estate data to generate insights for decision-making, including reducing carbon footprints.

Another growth area is tackling embodied carbon. AI is helping to make new construction and fit-outs more sustainable by taking on the laborious task of pinpointing materials with a lower carbon footprint.

With so many AI tools already on the market and more to come, companies can find it difficult to select the most relevant ones for their business.

A tailored decarbonization solution might take advantage of multiple AI tools, says Ravichandar. “Finding the best solution for a given business means leveraging an ecosystem of tools that work with the right data streams – whether these are compliance-related or building-related.”

“It’s a nascent area, but eventually, AI can help create more holistic, data-driven strategies that steer portfolio decisions, including the acquisition of greener buildings.”